A VOLUNTEER at a Wirral boxing club stole £30,000 of its funds - including Covid grants - to finance both his drink and gambling addictions.

Martin Lavery, who had been asked to take financial charge and was sole custodian of the bank card of the club, left just a paltry £6 in their accounts.

A court heard that although no official roles were appointed he registered himself as chairman, treasurer and secretary of Willaston Amateur Boxing Club on an England Boxing online portal.

When applying for one of the Covid grants from Wirral Borough Council he described himself ‘owner/senior coach’ and a sole trader. 

And to hide the thefts he knocked down several interior walls to give the impression that the funds were being used to improve the club.

“In reality no improvement works were carried out, and the defendant’s actions left parts of the building in a dangerous and unfinished condition,” said David Watson, prosecuting.

Lavery’s lawyer said that he had spent the stolen money on alcohol and gambling but jailing the defendant for 18 months a judge described his actions as driven by “greed.”

And he pointed out that over £2,000 was spent on card transactions, including food purchases, jewellery, gambling sites, transactions in Corfu and in fashion retail outlets. “It was used for luxury items," said the judge.

Recorder Ian Harris told the 46-year-old former soldier, “This was on a planned and deceitful scale……You took the heart out of the boxing club.”

He said he not only took money but tried to make it look as if re-development was underway and left the building in a dangerous condition.

Lavery, formerly of Croxteth Road, Toxteth, pleaded guilty to theft by employee of £30,906 between June 1, 2020 and August 20, 2021.

Mr Watson told the court that by the time the theft came to light Lavery, now Arkles Lane, Anfield, had been a coach at the Birkehead-based club, which is funded by members’ weekly subs, for two and a half years.

About six months after lockdown began other volunteers began to have concerns about his drinking and whether club funds were financing it. 

Mr Watson said: “It was considered imprudent to continue to allow him access to the members’ subs or to the club bank card. These concerns were heightened by the refusal of the defendant to allow other coaches to see the club’s bank statements.”

Another coach went to the bank “and rather then the healthy financial picture he was expecting, saw that the balance was only £6 and that a large amount of money had either been spent or transferred to the defendant’s account.

“It also became clear that the defendant had applied for numerous grants in the club’s name, without the knowledge of any other person at the  club and without the funds being used for the benefit of the club,” said Mr Watson.

Mr Watson  told the court that between June 2020 and April 2021, a total of approximately £37,000 was obtained by the club in nine separate grants, the biggest single one being £10,000.

Examination of transactions for the 13 months from June 2020 showed he used their bank account to withdraw more than £20,000 in cash. In addition more than £7,000 was transferred to his own bank account and a further £2,000 spent on card transactions. 

“The total general deficiency as a result of the defendant’s actions is assessed as £30,906,” said Mr Watson.

He said that it was estimated that Lavery had taken about £1,500 of members’ subs that were not paid into the account.

Mr Watson said that the various grants began with a £6,000 Covid grant and in June 2020, entirely of his own volition, he successfully applied for a £10,000 business rates Covid grant from the council.

Later, after a £4,000 grant Charity Groundwork, he got another grant from the council, this time £3,475 for a ‘Cardiovascular suite’  and ‘mental health space’. 

“Those funds were not used for the benefit of the club,” he told the court.

In September 2021 Lavery texted another coach and admitted the offence and the matter was reported to the police. When interviewed he admitted alcohol dependency. 

He said that he had relapsed during lockdown and given the club bank card to other individuals to use on the condition that they purchase him alcohol.  

Christopher McMaster, defending, said that Lavery, who only has one previous conviction for drink driving, said he had been placed in a position he should not have been. “He was the last person who should have been trusted.

“He did not inveigle himself into that position. He became  involved to assist the club and a cycle of debt followed.”

Mr McMaster said that the defendant had been a club member from the age of eight until he joined the Army at 16 where he served for ten years with the Cheshire Regiment. He completed five tours of Northern Ireland and served abroad.

He rejoined the club as a volunteer coach and his problematic relationship with alcohol became worse after his marriage breakdown in 2015 and he developed a gambling habit.

“In the depths of alcohol abuse he was treating the money of the club as his own,” said Mr McMaster.

He was drinking and gambling every day but since his offending came to light he has joined Alcoholics Anonymous, which he attends six times a week, and later Gamblers Anonymous, which he attends three times a week.

Mr McMaster said this showed he was rehabilitating himself and he pointed out the delay in the case reaching court but the judge said the offence was so serious only custody was appropriate.